IT was an idea hatched by Jamie Douglas-Hamilton halfway across the ocean in a rowing boat.

The plan to create a water-based sports drink while on a charity expedition sparked a separate journey that in turn led to an elevator pitch in a London club that then brought significant backing, and the brand set up by Mr Douglas-Hamilton, is now poised to appear on supermarket shelves around the country.

The animated entrepreneur from North Berwick had excitedly told an avid listener about his ionised alkaline brand called Actiph which he claims offers the “ultimate hydration”, the idea he honed in the wake of the record-breaking 5,000-mile charity rowing odyssey across the Indian Ocean.

In the bar of the Chiltern Firehouse in London, the late-night pitch to a fellow Scots patron landed Mr Douglas-Hamilton his biggest investor to date.

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He had caught the attention of Garreth Wood, of one of Scotland’s most successful business families, who invested a six-figure sum in the Edinburgh-based firm three months later.

Mr Douglas-Hamilton first sold the bottled water with a pH of at least 9.0 at Harrods, then Whole Foods, other selected retailers and Ocado online, and he is now in talks for an imminent presence in three big UK supermarkets, with an eye on the US next year.

The 37-year-old’s grandfather, Douglas Douglas-Hamilton was a renowned aviator who was the first to fly over Mount Everest in 1933, flew his own plane to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and later as a senior RAF officer assisted in the interrogation of Rudolph Hess when he crash-landed in Scotland in 1942, and a streak of derring-do seems to run through the family.

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On their own ground-breaking journey, Mr Douglas-Hamilton’s crew of six were on the endurance trip - in which he and his fellow rowers suffered hallucinations brought on by dehydration and exhaustion - that, by chance, one of the team mixed a small amount of saltwater with drinking water.

They are convinced it helped them replenish essential minerals and cut two weeks off the previous record.

The Herald:

He says: “A group of us decided to row from Australia to Africa. It was a huge undertaking. We did this row two hours on, two hours off, two hours on, huge seas, like 60 foot waves. We were burning 10,000 calories a day, drinking anything from 10 to 13 litres a day.

“At one point one of us mixed fresh water with a little seawater. We all just joked about it, he said it was probably the best sports drinks he’d ever had, encouraged us to try it, and it was amazing just the amount of energy you actually got, especially on a night session.We powered the whole way through and as a result it was the fastest row ever in the Indian Ocean, and the longest row ever in the Indian Ocean.”

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He said: “So after I finished this, I got back and I researched what you could do with water, what you could do by adding electrolytes, what else is possible.

“I came across the water in Japan that no one had never mentioned to me before, called ionised water.

“What happens is you are splitting the water into negative electrons, positive protons. You are splitting it into acid and alkaline ions. So, they way that is done is you have 12 layers of titanium plates and you electrically charge the water, so it is supercharged. It flows through these plates and it splits, so they have a positive and negative charge. The positive and negative ions will go one way or another. It is Japanese technology, and they have been doing it since 1965.

The Herald:

“Our product Actiph has no sea water in it, but it is about balance. In this country, our diet has become increasingly more acidic. We have far more sugars, far more sweeteners, far more artificial ingredients, flavours, we eat a lot more red meat. Coffee is kind of the staple diet for energy now and carbonated soft drinks.

“All of these are super acidic. What is alkaline is fruit and vegetables, especially vegetables, but it is hard to get that much vegetables in your system, that is why alkaline water just gets absorbed very, very quickly. That is why it makes you feel different.”

The firm now has seven on board including appointments of former Red Bull, Innocent Smoothies, Evian and Coca-Cola staff.

He said: “So, we have got a really experienced team around us. The big thing for us now is building that culture, building that internal culture.

“We are in a situation now where we are about to go into three of the biggest supermarkets and those are all in the final stages of negotiations between now and May.

“It will be a huge game changer.

“We are increasing what we are doing internationally, especially in the Middle East and Europe. We are looking to launch in the US at the back end of this year.”

Starting out after earlier running a club nights business, at first he raised his £5,000 from a friend, the same again from a neighbour, got backing from Scottish Enterprise and talked a few more investors into joining him before bumping into Mr Wood.

He said: “I was having beer. It was very funny, it just shows you, every time you are out, opportunities come about when you least expect it. He liked it straight away, I couldn’t believe that he also lived in Scotland predominantly, and we shared a friend.”

Mr Douglas-Hamilton adds: “Opportunities come out when you least expect them and that certainly happened to us. That is why you have to know your pitch.”

Q&A............

What countries have you most enjoyed travelling to, for business or leisure, and why?

America. I studied in Boston for a year and have been to New York a few times and Silicon Valley. There is so much energy and positivity over there and people are so friendly and willing to help.

When you were a child, what was your ideal job? 
Why did it appeal?

I always wanted to be in the army because liked the idea 
of pushing myself and the adventures it could lead to.

What was your biggest break in business?

We had lots of small breaks that accumulated and led on to the next step, such as launching in Harrods, then Whole Foods and other key accounts, to then expanding into the supermarkets and exporting to eight countries. Each break led on to the next opportunity.

What was your worst moment?

At the start, we had many issues with production.Ionisation is 
a highly sensitive process and led to us postponing the launch by five months.

Who do you most admire and why?
Nelson Mandela has always been a hero, showing so much resilience and persistence over such a long period of time and never giving up, then was so humble and forgiving in transforming his country.

What book are you reading?

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, which is the fascinating, highly-entertaining and candid real story of Nike told by the founder as he took it from concept to global brand.

What’s your favourite music?

I love good electro and house music.

What was the last film you saw?

Outlaw King, which is an epic. It is so refreshing to see a film that is historically accurate and great to see the true story of James Douglas “Black Douglas” told on film because he was one of the most feared Scottish warriors but until this film he was largely unknown.